Improvement in double hydraulic elevators



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. DAVIES.

DOUBLE HYDRAULIC ELEVATORS.

Pabented Aug. 7.1877,

Wj'l'pNSSi-IS V i ATTORN NJ'EIERS, PHD'I'O-LITHQGRAPNER, WASHINGTON. DC.

a Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. DAVIES.

DOUBLE HYDRAULIC ELEVATORS.

No. 193,929. Patented Au. 7,1877.

WlTN SS S I INVENTOR :6, a I

MPEIERs. PHoTo-LxTHmRAPaER WASMMGYON. D. c.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3..

H. DAVIES.

DOUBLE HYDRAULIC ELEVATORS.

193,929. Patented Aug. 7,1 8'7'7.

INVENTOR W, K ATTORNEY5 N. PUERS, PHOTO LITHQGRAF ings, or warehouses.

HENRY DAVIES OF NEWPORT, KENTUCKY.

IMPROVEMENT IN DOUBLE HYDRAULIC ELEVATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. B93329, dated August 7,1877; application filed March 23, 1877.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, HENRY DAVIES, of Newport, in the county of Campbelland State ot'Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Elevators; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, which form .part'of thisspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in elevators, more especiallyautomatic elevators, and may be equally well used to raise and lowerpeople or goods from one story to another, either in hotels, oflices,private dwell- The elevator is made with two large trunks connectedtogether and operated-by hydraulic motive power, so that one trunk willdescend simultaneously with the raising of the other trunk. These trunksare each divided into a vertical series of compartments of such height,relativeto the individual building in which the elevator works, thatthey shallcorrespond to the several stories of the building, and have avertical adjustment equal to the distance ,between any two of them bybeing-raised and lowered in the cellar a corresponding distance. As theelevator makes its first movement one trunk will descend from one storydown to another, and at the same time the counterpart trunk will ascenda story. The next movement of the elevator exactly reverses theforegoing, and

the former ascending trunk is lowered one story, while the trunk beforelowered is now raised one story.

As passengers or goods in one chamber are drawn up one story they arethen transferred from the one trunk to the other, and the lattertrunk-chamber carries them a story higher. 0n reaching the third story asecond transfer to the first trunk is made, and in this latter they arecarried still another story up, while, if'they are to belowered from ahigher to a lower story, the transfer from one trunk to another, exactlythe reverse of the former operation, takes them down to the desiredstory. In this way two sets of passengers or goods can simultaneously heraised and lowered. While one set ascends in the one trunk the other setdescends in the counterpart trunk, and permanent stoppage at any desiredstory can be made by either set. The doors to the several chambers areautomatically opened and closed as the trunks respectively arrive at, ordepart from, each story, and the construction is such that it'isimpossible to move the trunks until all the doors are closed, when thelatter are held securely in such closed position till the trunks stop atthe next story in either ascent or descent corresponding to therespective trunk. Thus all liability of accidents is prevented, as it isimpossible to enter or leave the chambers of the elevator except whenthe latter is held in fixed position, and hence even children can safelyand with perfect security against injury travel from one story toanother by themselves.

The elevator is actuated by hydraulic rams, one operating each of thetwo trunks, and connecting with a common feed-pipe which introduces thewater-pressure. and chest alternately feeds one of the rams, andexhausts the other, so that upon forcing one trunk up the other may fallof its own weight. The valve mechanism is operated automatically, first,by connecting means with one of the trunks, so that upon arriving at anyof the stories the valve closes all communication with the water-ramchambers, and thus holds the elevator fixed against any movement untilthe valve is reversed by a second set of connections, which latterallows of an opposite movement of the elevator, and is operated by aself-regulating mechanism, tech nically known as a cataract.

While the cataract determines the constant and uniform length of timeintervening between the alternate movements of the elevator, mechanismis also provided by which the elevator may be held motionless anyindeliuite length of time, and thus it maybe held stationary for anydesired interval independ Means are also provided by which the chambersincut of the operation of the cataract.

the trunk can be automatically lowered or raised in their respectivetrunks, so as to compensate for any difl'erence which may exist betweenthe heights of any two stories of the building in which the elevatorworks.

Referring to the drawings representing my A slide-valve elevator, Figurel is a view in front elevation Fig. 2, a view in side elevation Fig. 3,a plan, in section, taken through line a b of Fig. 1; Fig. 4,-also aplan, in section, taken through line 0 d; Fig. 5, a vertical section ofthe cataract. Figs.6 and 7 are, respectively, front elevation and planviews of a modification of my invention, showing the actuating-gear whensteam or other motive power is substituted for the hydraulic. Fig. 8represents mechanism for lengthening or shortening the lifts tocorrespond to different-height stories. Fig. 9 is a reverse plan view,in detail, of mechanism look ing the trunks. Fig. 10 is a detail view ofmechanism hereinafterreferred to.

Two large trunks, respectively lettered A and B, and preferably in theform of parallelograms, are of height one story less than the height instories of the building in which the elevator is to work, and areinteriorly divided into rooms or compartments corresponding to the samein the building. Each compartment is provided with a door, 0, rigidlysecured to a hinged bar, D, one to each trunk, the said hinged bar beingprovided with right-angular levenarms, d, which, engaging withspringpressed bars E, slidingin and out from either trunk at rightangles to their length, hold the doors constantly open, except when thespring-pressed bars are forced in by mechanism afterward described. Thetwo trunks are connected at their tops by a chain or rope, F, passingover an upper pulley, f, centrally located between the two, while theirbottoms, re-

spectively, engage with plunger-rods g h of the hydraulic rams G and H,one to each trunk. These rams connect with pipes t'j, leading into thevalve-chest I, which latter is provided with feed-pipe J and waste-pipeK. Any suitable valve mechanism may be used to govern the feed andexhaust of water with these rams, such as a plain or piston B or Dvalve.

The slide-valve rod L engages with the upright arm lof a rocking shaft,M, which latter is actuated at its inner end by a weighted lever, m, andat its opposite outer end by a rod, N, connecting with the double-armedbell crank lever n. The weighted lever m connects with a rod, 0, whichlatter engages with a vertically-reciprocating rod, P. Collars p arerigidly secured to this rod P at upper and lower extremity of same,which are engaged with by a bracket or bifurcated arm, Q, projectingfrom the lower extremity of the trunk A situated farthest from thecataract mechanism.

. As the trunk A ascends to its highest point the upper collar isengaged by the bracket, and, drawing the connecting-rod 0 up therock-shaft M, operates the valve mechanism so as to close allcommunication of the valvechest with eitherof the hydraulic rams; butupon the lowest descent of the trunk A the lower collar on rod P isengaged by the trunkbracket, and the valve mechanism through theconnecting means again closes all oomengages its connection therewith.

munication between the rams and the valvechest, only in the firstinstance the valve slides from off the open port leading into ram G,operating trunk A, while in the second instance the valve slides off theopen port connecting with ram H. These collars are placed on theirverticallyreciprocating rod,-in such relation to the trunk-bracket Q asto close these ports at just the accurate time to arrest the trunks andmaintain them in proper position, so that the level of theircompartments may coincide exactly with the level of the stories of thebuilding, and the trunks are securely held in such position untilcommunication is again opened between the rams and the valve-chest,which latter is operated by the connectingrod N, as follows:

To either arm extremity of the double-armed bell-crank lever n,actuating this connect-ing rod,are attached upright rods R and S, one toeach arm, and provided, respectively, with right-angular arms 1" 8.These latter are alternately pressed downward by the mechanism shown indetail in Fig..10, and which consists in a collar, T, fitted loosely onthe plungerrod U of the cataract, and having angular arms t, one oneither side of thesame. A disk-wheel, V, provided with a double taperingrim, 2;, on its semicircular face periphery, has a sliding lever, W,working in a guideway formed on the rear face of the disk, whichconnects with the lower extremity ofthe trunk B nearest the cataract.

Two studs, X, are formed on the front face of the disk, both a little toone side of the di-' ametrical line of the same, and as the trunk Brises the sliding lever W turns the diskwheel from right to left,causing the stud nearer the trunk to engage with the corresponding armof the collar T, and raise the latter, which carries the plunger-rod Uwith it, and thus vertically raises the same.

When the trunk B has reached the end of its upstroke, the angular arm ofthe collar T,

.formerly engaging with the corresponding stud of the disk-wheel,escapes from or dis- Upon the descent of the rod the double tapering rim'1: throws the other arm of the collar out from the face of the diskoveronto the arm 8 of the upright S, thus causing the latter, by the doscribed connecting mechanism, to operate the valve so as to open theexhaust leading from ram H, thus again placing the latter in operativecondition to raise the trunk B another time. The same operation, only inits reverse process, is duplicated in raising and lowering the trunk A,the arm 1- being pressed down by the corresponding arm of the angularcollar T.

The vertically-reciprocatin g rod P, it will be understood, operates ateach rise and descent of the trunk A, to control by its connectingmechanism the valve, so as to close all communication of the valve-chestwith the hydraulic rams, and thus, between the rise and fall of eachtrunk, the parts are held in constant position against change, whileupon the descent of plunger-rod U the valve opens The spring-pressedbars E engage with. their respective hinged bars D by the lever-arms 1,connecting with therigid rods 2, which latter directly operate the barsE. 'lhese slidingbars E have each an arm, 3, projecting through thesides of their trunks A and B, and of length sufficient to extend acrossthe backs of the fixed slide-pieces 4, which latter are secured to theframe-work, as shown in Figs. 2' and 4. Springs 5, also secured to eachtrunk, bear against the arms 3, and thus tend to press the barsE-out inprojection from the vertical face of the; trunks A and B.

Before the elevator can move the doors 0 must be closed by the hingedbars D, operated by the sliding bars E, which latter are forced in bythe friction-rollers Y,.journaled on right-angular arms y of arock-shaft, Z. This shaft Z has a short lever-arm, 2, at its extremrtynext to the plunger-rod U, which isoperated by anangular arm, u, on thelatter, sothat uponthe rise of the rod U pressure is relieved from therock-shaft Z, and the latter is freed from operation until the doors areagain to be closed, corresponding tothe movement ot'theelevator.

During the movement of the trunks the doors 0 are held closed by thefriction-rollers till the arms 3 of thebars E pass behind the fixedslide-pieces 4, and the doors are then held closed by the latter'till,under the movement of the trunks, the arms 3' pass from behindtheslideset, and, actuated by their springpressure, force out theslid-ing bars E, and

thus again open the doors.

To maintain the elevator against movement of either trunk, a slidingbar, A (shown 'in detail in Fig, 9,) controls the descent of the rodU bybeing horizontally moved in a line of direction toward the latter, so asto come under the angular arm a, thus etfectually locking the rodagainst its descent until the sliding bar is forced back by a stud onthe locking-bar B Thislatter extends vertically and in central linebetween the two trunks, and is provided with handles-b! for each story,so that, upon: turning the bar B a quarter of a revolution by means ofits handles, the elevator is correspondingly locked or unlocked in itsaction. Thesliding bar A is pressed by the spring a, so that itstendency is to hold the elevatorlocked until overcome by the unlockingmovement of the bar B When the plunger-rod U has descended aboutone-third of its stroke a pin, (3}, on the said rod operates the tappetlever d", which in turn engages with the rod D of'the relief-valve ofthe cataract, as afterward appears, so that upon the descent of the rodU the valve-rod D is raised, while upon the rise of the rod U thevalve-rod D is pressed down by the spring 0. Therelief-valve connectingwith the rod D is thus raised from its seat upon the descent of theplunger-rod U, and placed again 3 over its seat upon the rise of thesame.

port connection with the rams with each alternately.

The cataract (more clearly shown in Fig.5)

icon trols the valve mechanism operating the 1 hydraulic rams, andregulates the water-pressure, alternately actuating each of the same, solt'hat the trunks cannot move except as allowed by the time required forthe flow of a l certain quantity of water-through the regulatingvalve-opening of the-cataract. Tliir cataract is made according. tov thewel'li -known mechanical construction. The vertical. pump barrel E hasitsfoot submerged in water in the cistern or tank 13, zr e. plungerrod Uconnects with the pismllhe. valve-rod; D connects with the relief-valveGwhile 9 is the regulating valve mechanism..

Upon the riseor upstroke of piston f, the piston rests upon thewa-ter,and: the regulatin g-valve 9 being suitably set by'hand, allows anydesired length of time to intervene be-. tween the commencement: of thedescent of p the plunger-rod and the raising of the relief valve, whichlatter, operating under engage ment with the plunger-rod, causes thelatter to descend at once, thusclosing the doorsand changing theslide-valve.

By the downstroke of the piston f, the plunger-rod U, by the describedconnecting mechanism, opens-port connectionof the valvechest alternatelywith either hydraulic ram, and thus the time for closing the doors (1 isdetermined by the regulatingvalve mechanism, which latter maybe adjustedto correspond with any desired interval of time between the opening andtheclosing of the doors.

If desirable to hold theelevator stationary for any indeflnitelength oftime not dependient upon the action of the cataract, it may be done byturning the locking-bar B so as to. place thesliding bar A beneath theangular arm u of rod U, and thus preventing its descent until the bar Ais slid backagain. by suitably operating the locking-bar B In case anyof the stories in the building are of different relative heights, stepsmay be temporarily used to step from the fioorof a story into or outfrom the compartments of the trunks; but I have dev'iseda mechanicalcontriva'nce which works as follows, and is shown in the detail view,Fig. 8: A represents a section of a trunk in which B is. a slidingchamber, and is supported by a shaft, D hung in bearings inei-ther-sidewall of the trunk.

Ropes F connect with the chamber at one extremity, while their upperends are-secured to pulleys E which, together with the largeSide-pulIeyG revolve with the'shaftD The latter pulley, G has thelowerend of its rope -H secured to wall of the trunk-case, so that whenthetrunk is'raised carrying'the-shafit D the latter with its three pull:ys will herevoli'ed and since therope El iswound: over itspulley G in anopposite'direction to the ropes F wound over pulleys E, the rope I1 willbe unwound from off its pulley, and the ropes 13 will be wound overtheir corresponding pulleys. Thus the chamber B will be drawn up withinits trunk a distance varying inversely with the difference incircumference between the pulleys E and the pulley GK On the other hand,if the chamber is to be lowered instead of raised in its trunk, the ropeB should be secured to the wall above pulley G in which instance, uponthe rise of the trunk, the chamber would not be raised the same absolutedistance as its trunk, and thus, in either event, the difference inheight between the stories is compensated readily and automatically, thedoors 0 being constructed to slide vertically on the bars D.

While -I have described my elevator as driven by hydraulic pressure, itis evident that other motive power can be substituted in variousmechanical contrivances, one of which I show by way of illustration inFigs. 6 and 7. A B are sections of the trunks described. D are fourracks secured to the same. E are two pinions gearing into the racks. Iis a bevel-wheel upon the pinionshaft. G and H represent twobevel-Wheels, G being keyed onto its shaft 1 journaled in bearings J KThe pulley L is 'also keyed onto this shaft 1 while the pulley M andwheel H are keyed onto a sleeve, N revolving loosely on the shaft 1 Thepulley O is also loose. The lever P is connected with the band-shifter Qby rod V and the rod R connects with lever B upon the shaft T while thelower extremity of rod R engages with the weighted lever m, beforedescribed.

Upon revolving the band 41 in line of arrow direction the trunk-sectionA is-raised and B lowered until the bracket Q strikes the uppercollar 1) of rod P, before described, and by meansof the levers m P Sand rods R V the band 11 will be shifted to the loose pulley O and thusthe elevator would be arrested. The plungerrod U will now descend, as inthe former case, when the mechanical connections before described foroperating the valve mechanism will now engage with the belt 4: insteadthereof, and shift the latter over onto the tight pulley L The wheel Gwill accordingly be set in motion, trunk-section B will be raised, andsection A be lowered. The bracket Q will strike the lower collar 12 onrod P, thus shifting the band "0 over onto loose pulley O to await thedescent of the plungerrod U, when it is shifted onto tight pulley M andthe operation of raising and lowering altern ately the respective trunksis continuously carried on.

It will be understood that instead of a single pump or cataract,asdescribed, two pumps or cataracts may be used, each of the latterengaging with one of the two trunks by arms projecting from the latter,and engaging with the respective plunger-rods of the pumps by collarslocated on the latter, so that the said arms may strike the under sideof the collars only. In this way the trunks may descend independently ofthe plunger-rods. Or other similar variation from the mechanism shownmay be used without departing from the principle of my invention. So,too, instead of the spring-pressed bars E urging the doors 0 open,weighted levers may be used, or a small piston may be substituted, bywhich the doors might be opened noiselessly by having the piston fall ona cushion of air.

If desired, I may secure the doors 0 loosely to their supporting'bars D,so that the latter may turn or swing independently of the doors, andwhen the .doors, in such instance, are swung open by hand, the back orhinge section of the doors will come against stop-lugs on the said barsD. Some of the doors may thus be shut and others open, while theelevator is still; and it is evident that any one of the doors beingthus left open will prevent the movement of the trunks as efi'ectuallyas if all were simultaneously open.

The weighted lever on is provided with slots ranged along its bodyextremity, which engages with the rod 0, so that the latter, connectingwith the said slots, may operate the valve mechanism quicker or slower,as maybe desired, and the trunks will correspondingly be stopped moregradually or more suddenly, as the case may be.

It is apparent that many diiferent immaterial variations from themechanism shown may be. substituted without departing from the principleor spirit of my invention. So, too,'I do not confine the use of myelevator to buildings, as the same may be used to raise and lowerarticles or persons between points or grounds of level not covered by aroof. Neither is it necessary that the same should Work in a verticalstraight line, as it equally well can be used placed at an angle to thevertical, as when resting against a side hill or similar inclination.

If desired, I may do away with the doors attached to and moving with thetrunks, while doors are placed in a case in which the trunks work,andare stationary, being opened and closed by the mechanism beforedescribed, only the fixed slide-pieces 4 would not be required.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a hydraulic elevator, the combination of two hydraulic rams with avalve, which latter operates to admit liquid to one of the rams, whileat the same time it allows the liquid to escape from the other ram,substan- -tially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. Thctrunks of an elevator,in combination with independent hydraulicrams and valve mechanism, whereby the movement of the elevator serves toautomatically shift the valve, and alternately admit and exhaustpressure from the respective rams, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

3. The combination, with the trunk-actuating rams and valve mechanism,of the cataract and intermediate engaging connections, substantially asdescribed. I

1. The combination, with the trunks alternately actuated by hydraulicpressure, of the connecting sliding rod, the cataract, and theintermediately-engaging disk-wheel, whereby .the movement of the saidtrunks is adjustably regulated, substantially as described 5. Thecombination, with the trunk-actuatijng rams, valve, and valve-rod, ofthe rockshaft, the weighted lever, and the connecting mechanism, wherebythe valve is operated under the automatic rise and fall of the trunks,

' substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the trunks and the cataract plunger-rod, of theintermediate engaging mechanism for looking or unlocking the trunks intheir vertical movement, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the trunks and connecting mechanism, of thecataract plunger-rod and the relief-valve rod, the two latteralternating in an intermittent vertical reciprocation at each rise andfall of the trunks, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the hinged bar rigidly connecting the doors, ofthe transverse spring-pressed bars, the same operating to automaticallyopen the doors as the elevator reaches its extreme limit of movement,substantially as described.

9. The trunks of an elevator, provided with self-openingdoors,'antomatically locking the same against movement in eitherdirection, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, with the outwardly spring-pressed doors, of thehorizontal rock as described.

14. The combination, with the vertical locking-bar B provided withsuitable handles, of the horizontal spring-pressed bar A engaging withthe plunger-rod U, substantially as described.

15. The combination, with the rock -shaf't Z, having arms y, carryingfriction-rollers Y, and lever-arm z, of the plunger-rod U, pr0vided withstud a, substantially as described.

16. The combination, with the hinged bars D, operating doors (J, of thespring-pressed bars E, and rock-shaft Z, the latter carryingfriction-rollers, substantially as described.

In testimony that 1 claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this13th day of March, 1877.

HENRY DAVIES.

